The day after that strange moment when the phrase “the Moon Goddess” suddenly popped into my mind and made everything feel absurd…
I was sitting on a train when a powerful Gyu——— hit my stomach.
Stronger than usual.
My ears rang sharply, a high ping that vibrated through my whole head.
And then I noticed something.
My breathing was wrong.
I wanted to breathe normally, but my body wouldn’t follow my intention.
My breath had become unusually slow—gentle—almost ceremonial.
And there was something else…
It felt like each time I inhaled, something was being softly placed inside my chest.
I wasn’t doing it on purpose. My body just… moved that way.
I exhaled, waited to inhale again, but the exhale kept going,
and I thought, “Hey, aren’t we done yet?”
The whole thing felt bizarre.
That’s when I realized:
Someone was here.
I asked in my mind:
“Who?”
A name surfaced instantly: Sae ki no jiisan—
and at the same time the kanji 斉木 appeared.
(“Wait, that’s read Saeki? Isn’t it Saiki?” I thought.
Later, when I typed saeki into my phone, the first suggestion was indeed 斉木.
That freaked me out.)
Then his appearance came into focus:
Very long white hair, a long white beard, and a flowing white robe.
It was the clearest I had ever “seen” a presence.
Much clearer than Gyu’s form.
And I recognized him.
Years ago—when I was young, unmarried, looking for a new apartment.
That night, this same old man appeared in my dream.
“You must choose the apartment you saw today.
That town will be good for your growth.
You must choose that place.”
Back then I thought,
“A long-haired white-bearded ‘God-like’ grandpa?
Yeah right, that’s definitely fake.”
I doubted him completely and ignored the dream.
But now—
Here he was again, on a New York subway, when I was 38.
Same gentle presence.
Same soft smile.
And he said:
“I’ve been with you all along.
Since the moment you were born.”
He then told me he would explain the state of the world,
and gave me several predictions about the future.
Everything he said carried the same message:
“Don’t worry.
Everything will be all right.
Do not fear.One day the Earth will become a field of flowers.
Each person is a single blossom.”
Then he said something I still don’t fully understand:
“Let me tell you about the loach.
The loach governs the People of Truth.
Long ago, only the People of Truth lived in Edo.
The loach delivers messages—
like a bird in the sky.
Edo is the navel of the dragon—
a fragile point of the Earth.
The barrier around Edo is weakening.
Anyone can enter now.
The loach must be returned to the flower field.”
I had no idea what it meant.
But the absurdity of the previous day’s “Moon Goddess” shock loosened a little.
Because honestly—there was no way I could have invented such a surreal loach story.
It didn’t feel like imagination.
And the reason I remember his words so clearly is simple:
On that train he told me,
“You’re going to write this down, aren’t you?
You always write things in your phone’s calendar.
Come now, write it. You’ll forget.”
He even helped me type it.
And that was how Saeki the Elder (斉木のじいさん) made his first appearance.
It was a full-moon night.
.
.